Dogs Against Drugs

[Guest Anonymous]

I've heard from a few people that the sniffer dogs are pretty ineffectual. They're probably a good detterent against potential baddies, but how many people have they actually been involved in catching. Whenever there's a 'bust', the dogs seem to be credited, even if the police were working on intelligence and the baddie would have been busted anyway.

And how much do they cost?

[peeriebryan]

I see your point. If you Read This Article you'll notice that the headline is 'Dog helps find record drugs haul', but later states 'Police had been tipped off to look out for a foot passenger arriving on the ferry from Aberdeen.' The saw him coming off the boat, took him to the station and found a large quantity of drugs in his bag.

 

The guy later admitted to police that 'there was "speed" in the house.' The only thing the dog did, as far as the article states, was find the drugs the guy had already told them was there. The drugs found in the house was a fraction of 'Shetland's biggest seizure of drugs', yet the dog gets the headline.

 

That said, they probably are a deterrent to would-be drug smugglers. And black labs are cute

[Njugle]

A highly sensitive and emotive issue scaredee cat. But worthy of debate.

 

It is said that HM Customs were against this from the start. Traffikers are found through intelligence work more often than not. The problem with placing a dog, and handler at the ferry or airport entries is that it encourages traffikers to use alternative routes which are far less economical to police, nigh on impossible. So we're back to intelligence again.

 

The shame about the whole scenario is that many good people with good intentions are putting a lot of effort into trying to eradicate the more serious drug elements from our community(and quite rightly so) by funding the dogs, whether they are effective or not. People are trying to do good as i've said.

However, as a dog lover myself, it is an affront and causes offence to be confronted with a lovely dog, who you are not allowed to klapp or speak to, at the terminals accompanied by an officer in full body armour. It's not nice. Not for me, nor any other local, nor any tourist. Think how it must feel booking your ticket to the "unspoilt islands of the north" and being met by dog and armor plated handler. You don't get that in any other airport i've ever travelled to, not even internationally, not in America, Central America, The Far East, Europe, not even Schipol for heavens sakes!

 

It does not create a good impression in "unspoilt Shetland"

 

The dog should be behind the scenes, or allowed to go and play fetch like all labs really want to.

[Guest Anonymous]

i take your points, but i like the idea, when i see the dogs makes me feel safer sort of 'we take drugs serously and we try to stop it'.

 

Personely i think the dog should be out randomly more, in the shops and schools, council offices and any workplaces.

 

The more time the police save because the dog finds them the beter in my book

[Guest Anonymous]

I agree that the dog is not effective. Most of the drugs are found through tip offs and intellegence. the dog is a waste of money that could be used in other ways to tackle drugs.

 

Any finds are credited to the dog but are actually from intellegance. The dog is a help I guess but in what it actually does for the money is a complete waste of time. They just cant admit it.

 

It just makes the police more visible that they are doing somthing about drugs. I would scrap it and put the money to a better use!

[moorit]

Since Dogs Against Drugs started work, drug seizures in Shetland have gone up by 400 per cent and the number of dealers reported to the procurator fiscal more than tripled last year.

 

Coincidence ?

[Guest Anonymous]

Since Dogs Against Drugs started work, drug seizures in Shetland have gone up by 400 per cent and the number of dealers reported to the procurator fiscal more than tripled last year.

 

Coincidence ?

 

i think its great - the dogs saves ther dealers house being pulled apart the wee doggie finds ther wee stach for the cops - saves time too

 

im all for them

[Guest Anonymous]

Give me one example when the dog found drugs that the police were not led from a tip off or intellegence?

 

I think there are just more tip offs now more intellegence and more pressure put on the dealers. Dont think the dog adds much for its cost.

[moorit]

Give me one example when the dog found drugs that the police were not led from a tip off or intellegence?

 

I think there are just more tip offs now more intellegence and more pressure put on the dealers. Dont think the dog adds much for its cost.

 

Remember the drugs that were sniffed out at the left luggage at Aberdeen terminal ?

Mind you, it could be said it was maybe the handler's intelligence that asked the dog to look there, or did the dog decide itself to look there

 

Obviously the dog is an aid, and the stats prove that more dealers are being caught since they were introduced.

That can only be good, unless of course ........

[Guest Anonymous]

To play Devils advocate.......

 

I've heard 'on the grapevine' the the sniffer dogs actually encourage the smuggling of hard drugs.

 

Cannabis, the most commonly used drug in Shetland (and relatively harmless, depending on what research you read) is of relatively low value, very bulky and has a strong odour, making it easy for dogs to sniff out. Therefore an unnattrative option for the dealers.

 

Powdered drugs, such as heroin, are high value, low bulk and relatively odourless, making it very difficult for the dogs to sniff out. Therefore a very attractive option for dealers.

 

As far as I'm aware, the dogs have done nothing to stop the creeping spread of heroin use in Shetland.

[moorit]

I heard Geoffrey Archer saying a similar type of thing about drugs in prisons the other day.

The harder drugs were more difficult to detect so that's what they were turning to.

[Guest Anonymous]

The first time I was aware of heroin being used 'openly' in Shetland was at a party, and the guys who were doing it claimed that they couldn't get any cannabis, and they needed "something to take the edge off the E's"

 

That was probably around the time the sniffer dogs started doing the rounds. I don't think the dogs "encourage" the use of harder drugs, but its a factor worth considering.

[Guest Anonymous]

The first time I was aware of heroin being used 'openly' in Shetland was at a party, and the guys who were doing it claimed that they couldn't get any cannabis, and they needed "something to take the edge off the E's"

 

That was probably around the time the sniffer dogs started doing the rounds. I don't think the dogs "encourage" the use of harder drugs, but its a factor worth considering.

 

train the dogs to do all drugs then!

[Muppet]

 

train the dogs to do all drugs then!

 

I'm pretty sure the dogs are trained to do all drugs, but if you scroll back to the previous post, the point was that they find hard drugs hard to detect. (wonder if thats why they're called 'hard'drugs )

[JustMe]

In defence of the dogs I am sure I read about one of them finding drugs during a random sniff of inbound parcels so perhaps they should get some credit. Of course I will admit that using the dogs make it look like the local police are doing "something" about drugs which is good pr.